Controlling the cost of disruption, but how?

Controlling the cost of disruption, but how?

The cost of aviation is in the last passenger. Although we know this it’s hard to control. We put all our effort in tooling to have better control on the pre-operational process. Planning, self-service, et cetera. After we have them on their seat, we leave them in the hands of the cabin crew.

They will make the journey as convenient as possible for the passenger. When passengers are released from the aircraft, also known as off-boarding, the passenger is on his own. And if they have a connecting flight to catch and have short connection time you can see it by the panic in their eyes.

The process of connecting flights, are they up-to-date?

Both airlines and airports have their shortcomings or even difficulties in supporting passengers when they face a short connection time or disturbances. At this moment, most of the airlines and airports manually check if planes arrive on time or delayed, what the waiting time is at the security check, passport control, et cetera. If passengers are in danger of delay people from the airport and or airline (must) come into action and find a solution. It is normally based on a protocol, but more often based on what a person can handle and their own abdominal feeling. Resulting in actions done too late or are costly for the airline and or airport. And most shocking sometimes not even pickup by the suffering passenger(s).
Passengers are more often left to their faith and consequently, they will have a bad passenger experience. And social media is their way to release the stress. People do monitor possible delays and try to act on them.

Predictable disruptions

The question should be: How you can control these disruptions if just spotting them isn’t enough?
Make even disruptions predictable. Make sure the outcome of disruptions is every time the same based on the rules and procedures you as an organization have in place. Pushing information to the passenger in need is something today’s clients expect you to do. Not a generic broadcast bla-bla message, but a personalised message. When I am provided with specific information to make my journey smooth, I will be a good travel companion. You would be happy too… It will turn a smile on your face.

The best thing is yet to come

There is a nice spin-off. A seamless and efficient operation. Fewer people needed for disruption handling. Fewer passengers stranded in hotels. Fewer penalties. Fewer delays. Better passenger experience. Better rating on social media. Better business results!

Knowing the intensity of flying is getting higher and more passengers will be in transit. Think about the consequences… More people will need help during their transit. Do the math. The conclusion justifies jumping into action…..